Tuesday, 15 October 2013

I have recently been experiencing the Curse of The Blogger. Not quite as reader-deadly as Writer's Block nor quite as career-numbing as the dreaded Website Crash. But still, my blogging has been dogged by the *whispered* Temperamental Camera. Yes, both the bridge, SLR and even my trusty Blackberry (I really must jump ship and head on over to iPhone) have let me down this last week. From restaurant reviews to Ellie Goulding gigs (I saw her before her Julian Macdonald dress hit front pages), my point 'n' shoot has been playing me up just like an errant boyfriend.

Regardless, I took my untrustworthy sidekick to last night's launch of my wonderful friend, Sam Bawden's Cheltenham Fashion Week. Ever hopeful, I went for moral support, the excuse to give her a huge hug and to take some great snaps for Stilettos in the Sticks...

The fantastic Sam Bawden - check out her Phonebook Interview with me here

Regardless of the lack of pictorial evidence, last night's welcome-to-the-2014-Gloucestershire-fashion-scene was a fabulous taster of what's in store. The event, which will run from the 2nd to the 7th December, will be a mix of student fashion shows, tutorials, speeches, excuses to shop, cocktails at Cowley Manor, burlesque frivolity at 'Undress to Impress' all rounded off by an uber glamourous CFW's Fashion's Night Out. Tickets are already on sale so stiletto-trot your way on over to their website here and nab your front row seats here. And follow them on Twitter: @cheltfashionwk

Having been frog marched straight to the delightful Shack Bar boys, I was forced offered a gorgeous Chase cocktail which was staunchly called a 'Summer's Breeze' and studiously made us all ignore the distinctly wintery weather outside. It was great to catch up with known faces and some new friends, especially Brooke of This Cotswold Girl, a fabulous local blogger and writer.

Speeches were made, thanks were given and everyone gossiped about transitional wardrobes and frivolous fashions. We also heard about the exceptional charities CFW are supporting this year; Hop, Skip and Jump and The British Legion. Please do take time to have a look at their websites and support these extraordinary causes.

Monday, 30 September 2013

Although why you’re all called that I really don’t know. There’s
nothing particularly fresh about that first fortnight apart from the guys
trying to get first-time hands into first-time knickers. Bar that shuddering experience – and not in a good way – that
first two weeks of freedom will mostly be rolling up to lectures in yesterday’s
clothes, coping with the student squalor of a second or third year’s home (think House of Horrors by way of Pat Sharp's Fun House), living almost exclusively on dry shampoo and Dove deodorant and never having
enough loo roll or washing up liquid to hand. See, distinctly non-fresh.

Apart from cleanliness though, starting Uni is very much
like a breath of a 'fresh' air. It’s a brand new start. The first step towards
the greater you. It may be a faltering step but it’s all contributing towards Your Grand Plan.

As you embark on this next stage of your life most people are telling you WHAT TO DO – apart from your
weeping mother who will alternately tell you she loves you but NOT TO TAKE
DRUGS. But for the most part, your friends and the media will have tips and ideas on what you should be doing. I however, am going to tell you what to
stear clear of.

Don't do Initiations: You’re desperate to make a name for yourself.
You want to be funny and brave and reckless and impress the rugby
squad/Bullingdon Club/chess team. But don’t forget that everyone has a camera
phone and that delightful image of your freshly shaven bollocks hanging over
someones’s nose whilst you drink the
entire top shelf through a funnel, will end up on social media and that’s tougher to get rid of
than your fresher flu or, heaven forbid that delightful remnant of a truly forgettable and less than savoury liason. Which leads me on to..

Don't have Sex with the First Person you Meet: You have just swum down
the river of youth and reached the ocean of opportunity, paddle for a while. Don't forget, your beer goggles will be firmly on for the best part of a month and therefore your judgement will be severely impaired and so cannot be trusted. Although on the plus side, a near-stranger during the
winter months is cheaper than paying for that electric heater.

Don't be Tight: There is nothing worse than a parsimonious person.
We’re all broke – and it’s going to get a lot worse, but in your first week,
put your hand in your pocket and buy a bloody round. That study book isn’t
going to help you laugh your way through the coursework all-nighters but friends who you've shared a bottle of Pinot with, will.

Don't Be the Gap Year Bore: Yes, we’re impressed that you helped
build a school/visited Machu Pichu/had The Best Time Ever at a full moon party
but unless you’ve truly done something one off, then change the record. And
banish all clothing and accessories you compiled along your year of discovery.

Don't Live on Pasta: You think it’s your cheap, cheerful, easy friend now – two months down the line though and you’ll be wondering where the third chin came from and why your face has exploded with acne you thought you'd said adios to at 15. Buy some vegetables, they’re better for your waistline. No they won’t cure your hangover, but your body has already taken a nueclear hit of jaegermesiter, it doesn’t need to be asphyxiated with carbs too.

Don’t be a Version of Yourself: I get it, you’re in your
late teens, you’re in a new city you’ve barely visited, you’re thrown into a
melting pot with people you don’t and, perhaps rather not, know, but enough with
the self angst. Be yourself. Not with false bravado, a dodgy accent or a host
of stories based on your much cooler, older brother. You’ll get caught out. And
it will be awful.

Don't be Political for the Sake of it: You're an idealist who thinks they'll change the world. And maybe you will. In ten or twenty years time. Now, you're just avoiding 9am lectures, being neighbours from hell and spouting rubbish from the pulpit of not paying tax or slogging it in the office.

Don’t Ignore your Mum: You may think that five texts, two
phonecalls and 20 emails a day is a bit overboard, but she won’t stalk you
quite so much if you just reply once. She thinks youre dead, pick up the
phone.

Enjoy, you only get this opportunity once. Or you should do, so DON'T fail your exams.

Thursday, 19 September 2013

So today is Carine Roitfeld's birthday. Model, former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris, current Editor of CR Fashion Book and the muse to the sexiest of all designers, Tom Ford, Carine is the embodiment of style. Look for chic in the dictionary and a picture of her appears under it alongside Coco Chanel. C’est pas magnifique! Happy birthday Corine, you gave good eyebrow long before Cara.

Little Ole Me

The Pitch: The lifestyle blog of a 20 something juggling her stilettos and her wellington boots as she trots around the globe – or less exotically, around her everyday life. "I would go to the opening of an envelope if it meant I could use my passport."